my wife has the nissan almera 2.2 dci 136bhp 6 speed & i have the civic ES 1.8. i drive both cars hard because of the job i do. the nissan is great for the 1st few seconds because of the torque. it cruises on the motorway in 6 gear just above 3000 revs at 100mph. as for the civic 1.8 petrol you get a better driven experience as you can use the high revs for slowin in to corners & exiting out on max power. you try & do that in a diesel
. the 1.8 & 2.2 have the same 0-62 & top end. its down to preference